Travel Resources

On the Road

The Man in Seat 61 (Rail travel)

Traveling by train is our favourite way to get around where possible. This website has endless information and booking services for the rail networks of the world and has been invaluable to us. It run by a true train geek and constantly updated. Take a look.

Lonely Planet (Guidebooks)

Despite the abundance of digital resources and wifi available around the globe we still always carry a Lonely Planet guidebook with us where possible. It’s just plain reassuring to thumb through the pages and work out where to visit, eat or stay. Shop for guidebooks here.

Airbnb (Accommodation)

Whenever we can we like to use Airbnb to see out more authentic local experiences. It makes a great alternative to hotels. We’ve stayed in some pretty wonderful and unique spots all over the world thanks to this site.

Agoda (Accommodation)

We’ve used Agoda on several occasions when searching for and booking something last minute. Travel in your mid thirties sometimes means you want to know you’ve got a place booked up to save any hassle upon arrival, this site is great for that.

They list thousands of hotels in most countries. It’s easy to use and gives you a choice of rooms depending on availability. Click here to book a room now.

Equipment

Osprey Farpoint 40 Backpack

Charlie swears by this backpack. It’s easy to use, hardwearing and very lightweight. The 3 main compartments make it ideal for easily separating out the gadgets, laptops and clothing we carry around.

There are larger versions avaliable but sticking to a 40 litre pack helps us to travel light when on the road.

The handles on the top and side are a great feature as is the zip-able flap to cover over the straps when checking it in at the airport.Details here (US)(UK version).

13″ MacBook Pro Retina (Laptop)

This is our main laptop for editing photos and videos. We went for the 8GB version for the extra juice to tackle those large images and video clips head on and it does the job wonderfully. It’s a great quality bit of kit which we use all the time and it’s not failed us yet.Take a look (US) (UK version).

Toshiba Chromebook 2 (Laptop)

To compliment the MacBook Pro we got a Chromebook for lighter use, browsing and writing etc. It runs on ChromeOS so boots up in seconds and is pretty lightweight to carry around and the screen is very sharp. It means we can both work on the site at the same time which is great.

Cannon EOS 1100D (Main camera)

Kristina uses this to take all the wonderful pictures you see on the blog and loves it. She has owned it for over a year and has learnt a hell of a lot about its features in that time. It’s a good sturdy work horse and when combined with the 50mm lens (below) takes some amazingly detailed shots. Check it out here (US)(UK version).

SJ4000 HD 1080P (Camera)

It looks like a GoPro, it has similar accessories to a GoPro but it’s not quite a GoPro. But at a good $200 – $300 less it does a pretty fine job of getting those wide angle shorts you see in some of our videos. The only downside is the lack of sound recording so we use it for filler shots but at around $80 USD it’s great. View the details here (US)(UK version)

Clothing

Mens Wicking T-Shirts

These chaps t-shirts have been fantastic when traveling around hot and humid places. Charlie likes them as he sweats a lot less wearing them plus they dry very quickly after a quick hand wash. They are also ultra light weight and take up sod all space in our packs. This one is ‘Airforce Blue’ and they come in a wide range of colours and sizes.Get wicking t-shirts here (US)(UK version)

Womens Shoes

Kristina loves her comfortable outdoor shoes. They were a random find on Amazon and have served her well over the past few months. They are lightweight so won’t add much to a pack if they need carrying. Plus after rigorous testing in the muddy rice fields of Sapa, they are definitely waterproof!More info on the shoes here (US)(UK version).

Money

Halifax Clarity (Credit Card, UK Only)

Okay, it sounds crazy to be advocating a Credit Card to withdraw money from an ATM but if you’re from the UK and traveling overseas the rates on this card currently beat all others. We use this all the time and then login and pay off any balances as soon as they appear. This works out at the best exchange rate going for overseas spending. Find out more and apply here.

Trail Wallet
(Smartphone app)

We use this every day to record our ongoing travel expenses and keep track of our budget. It is invaluable. When we started out we were using a fussy spreadsheet but this is so much quicker and neater. In a glance we now know if we are on track for the day/month and adjust accordingly.

You can download it for free to test it out and get full access for around $5. Download it here.

Disclaimer: Some of the above links are affiliate links which means we may get a small commission if you spend money with the providers mentioned. There is never any additional cost to you when using our links and we will be extremely grateful to you. It all helps towards the running of the blog and more great free content for you. Win-win!

We're Currently In:Malta 🇲🇹

00 Days on the Road

We're Charlie and Kristina and we love to travel so much we started MapTrotting to inspire you to work less and travel more.
After exploring our own 'back yard' of Great Britain for many years, we're now location independent, blogging our way around the world.Find out more.